Chapter Text
Paul remembers the day he met Ken like it happened yesterday. It was a bleak Sunday evening, class was just about to end when it started pouring down rain. "Ah, just great! The day I don't bring my umbrella, it rains," Paul sighs as he looks out the window. Oddly enough, there was a group of kids still hanging around outside playing basketball. "Weirdos," he whispers, returning his focus to the lesson.
He stands under the overhang of the school building, waiting for the sky to clear. "Ugh, I knew I should've brought my umbrella," a voice beside him mutters, and Paul looks up, startled by the presence. "When did you get here?" he asks. "Oh, just now." "Oh..." "My name is Kenji, but you can just call me Ken," the mysterious boy states. "What about you?" "Paul," he responds. "Cool. Nice to meet you, Paul."
They stand in silence for a good 15 minutes before Ken speaks up, "So what grade and class are you in?" "Grade 11, class 11-2." "What about you?" Paul asks in turn. "Oh! I'm also in grade 11!" Ken states ecstatically. "But I'm in class 11-4." Paul hums in acknowledgment.
As the two boys continue to talk for what seems like hours on end, laughing and joking about any and everything, the rain finally starts to let up. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then?" Ken asks, uncertain if this was just a one-off friendship when Paul looks up at him, offering his brightest smile. "Yeah, you will." "See you later, Kenji. It was nice talking to you; I really enjoyed it!"
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It's been about a two weeks since that talk under the overhang, but oddly enough, Ken and Paul haven't seen each other since then. "I should've given him my number!" Paul yells, rolling around on his bed and ruffling his hair. "SHUT UP!" his younger brother Jummo yells from the room across the hall; he screams a little louder just to piss him off.
Paul sighs, "Whatever, let's just study." He gets up to grab his school books from his bag when his room door bursts open. "PAUL, IT'S BEEN SO LONG, MY DEAR FRIEND!" his best friend Aston screams as he jumps on his back. "How did you get in my house?" Paul deadpans. "Your pops let me in." "Sigh, whatever. What are you doing here anyway?" "We have that big exam next week, so I was wondering if you wanted to join this study group with me?" Paul thinks about it for a minute before he responds, "Why not, when is it?" "In about five minutes," Aston responds gleefully. "..." "Aston." "Yeah?" "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Paul shrieks!
They make it to the meeting spot a whole 10 minutes late. "Sorry we're late," Aston chirps to the crowd of students as he and Paul set their bags down. "Oh, it's no problem, don't worry; we're actually still waiting for one more person, so while we wait, let's introduce ourselves!" the club leader vocalizes. "I'll go first; my name is Progress, I'm in class 11-1." "Uh, I guess I'll go next; my name is Sea, class 11-1," says the boy next to him. "My name is Surf, class 11-3." They go in a circle until it's finally Paul's turn. "Hi! My name is Paul, class 11-2; nice to meet you all!" he states, grinning.
They were all participating in their own mini conversations when the door burst open, startling everyone in the room. Standing there is the boy he's been yearning to meet for weeks now, sweat dripping down his face. He announces, "Sorry I'm so late, I missed the bus and had to run here. The name's Kenji." He beams.